Chapter 165: I Am Getting Rich Overnight
“Fifteen million!”
“Sixteen million!”
“Twenty million!”
…
Qin Bei, in the auction room, stared at the throng of people below who were now far more excited than before, his eyes wide in disbelief.
“Look at these fools! Just because it was used by the emperor, they are willing to spend millions of spirit stones to buy it. Is it just a bed carved with dragon patterns? What use is that? And that incense burner and other trinkets are all useless! The palace can have as many of these as they want.”
“It hardly helps with cultivation, and you can’t even play with it. It’s not worth it compared to the lovely little nightgowns from the girls at Luofenglou! At least they’re less expensive and smell delightful.”
The Ninth Prince casually threw in a quip, which promptly startled Guan Yun, who was next to him.
That was a tad disrespectful.
Talking like this in front of a prince? Definitely a slip of the tongue.
But when Qin Bei looked at him, he merely chuckled and shook his head.
“It’s clear that your relationship with my father isn’t exactly warm.”
At the same time, he thought to himself that his uncle was quite the lecher.
He really exemplified the indulgences of the nobility, flaunting it without a care for public opinion.
Qin Bei was somewhat familiar with people like him, and it seemed he didn’t have too much malice in him.
While the two chatted, the bidding had reached a fever-pitched intensity.
The price of twenty-five million spirit stones saw no further bids.
Despite everyone’s admiration for Emperor Xia, that spirit stone amount was no small change; even fanatics had to consider their own financial limitations.
“Don’t raise the bid anymore! I can’t keep up!”
In the Earth Grade Auction Room, Qian Lei, the heir of the first bank, clutched his hands tightly, staring at the auction stage.
He was the die-hard fan of Emperor Xia who had just bid twenty-six million.
His tension only lasted a brief moment because, from the auction room above him, a direct bid of thirty million spirit stones came through.
“Sky Grade Room Number One bids thirty million spirit stones!”
Fei Fei’s excited voice echoed through the hall.
Everyone present turned to look in silence at the room where the Ninth Prince was seated.
What’s going on here? Your brother is auctioning off personal items, and you, as a younger brother, just want to hop on the bandwagon?
If you want it, why not just ask your brother directly? Why spend all this money competing with us? Don’t you have too much cash lying around?
That was the collective thought, including Qian Lei’s.
No one understood what the Ninth Prince was up to.
In the auction room, Qin Bei was equally perplexed.
“What’s the Emperor doing?”
“Hai~ What else would he be doing? While my brother is selling his personal items at the expense of his reputation to push his policies, he is still the Emperor of Great Xia, not just some prince. Selling personal belongings is pretty degrading. I’m just covering for him; it won’t really have any repercussions, right? Anyway, my wife’s family doesn’t need this little bit of money.”
The Ninth Prince said nonchalantly.
In that instant, Qin Bei was taken aback.
Gazing at the serene expression of the Ninth Prince, he gained a new perspective of this royal uncle before him.
His uncle didn’t usually show the proper respect to Emperor Xia, even being a bit irreverent.
Yet in this moment, he was willing to spend a hefty sum to bolster Emperor Xia’s reputation.
Thirty million spirit stones, while he made it sound casual, was certainly not chump change.
What a conflicted royal uncle he was.
But then again, considering that Emperor Xia was also from the royal family, it made sense for the Ninth Prince to protect his reputation.
At the root of it, their conflict was just about how to treat members of the royal family; in other matters, the Ninth Prince never interfered.
…
“Thirty million spirit stones once!”
“Thirty million spirit stones twice!”
“Thirty million spirit stones three times!”
“Sold!”
Ultimately, the Ninth Prince acquired Emperor Xia’s personal belongings for thirty million spirit stones.
Heh~ Once this auction ends, I’m definitely going to use these items to tease my brother!
The Ninth Prince smirked inwardly.
At the same time, Qin Bei couldn’t help but shudder.
Why do I suddenly feel a chill down my spine?
…
“Even though none of us managed to snag Emperor Xia’s personal belongings, don’t get disheartened. There’s more related to Emperor Xia in this auction than just this! I’m sure you’ll enjoy the next item.”
“The next piece is Emperor Xia’s collection of calligraphy and paintings; these are all masterpieces by renowned artists.”
Fei Fei had arranged the auction lineup very thoughtfully.
The crowd was still fuming over not being able to get their hands on something auctioned so rarely by Emperor Xia for years. Now with his collection on offer, they were instantly reinvigorated, ready to pounce.
With the earlier proof in hand, everyone believed Fei Fei’s words, confident these items were indeed part of Emperor Xia’s collection.
Otherwise, Fei Fei wouldn’t have dared to invoke Emperor Xia’s name.
Unsurprisingly, the prices of these paintings and calligraphy, which would top out at around one hundred thousand spirit stones, soared when associated with Emperor Xia, almost doubling.
As Qin Bei saw tens of millions of spirit stones flowing in again, he was already grinning from ear to ear.
What astonished him even more was that Fei Fei auctioned off the emperor’s handwritten pieces separately.
One by one.
Each piece surpassed one million spirit stones in price.
The most expensive piece even hit five million spirit stones.
Clearly, the calligraphy and paintings created by Emperor Xia not only carried his personal prestige but also provided benefits in cultivation.
These individuals had evidently figured that out, thus willing to pay such prices to acquire them.
The auction for the calligraphy and paintings proceeded smoothly, and the Ninth Prince remained unengaged throughout the process.
Because these artworks were worlds apart from personal items like beds; auctioning them would only enhance Emperor Xia’s standing, so there was simply no need for him to step in.
The auction continued.
Qin Bei noticed something peculiar.
Most of the items available were aimed at enhancing comprehension abilities.
There were hardly any aimed at bolstering combat effectiveness or cultivation skills.
This revelation further dissuaded Qin Bei from joining in.
Comprehension? What treasure could possibly rival the clarity brought on by a system epiphany?
As long as there are enough krypton gold points, everything would be just fine.
The next highlight of the auction was the appearance of the Holy Infant Fruit.
Fei Fei split the two Holy Infant Fruits into two separate auctions.
Upon seeing the Holy Infant Fruit, everyone in the crowd once again confirmed one indisputable fact.
This time around, Emperor Xia was in attendance at the auction.
Otherwise, how could something as treasured by the royal family as the Holy Infant Fruit make its way to this event?
The first Holy Infant Fruit was purchased by Qin Xiu for eighteen million spirit stones.
This left Qin Bei utterly stunned.
He hadn’t encountered anything over the ten-million spirit stone mark until now, yet here was Qin Xiu casually dropping eighteen million spirit stones for the Holy Infant Fruit.
In that moment, Qin Bei resolved firmly.
Ministry of Revenue! I must have my people in there!
It would be ideal to replace Qin Xiu’s influence in the Ministry of Revenue, ensuring he would never run short of funds again.
The second Holy Infant Fruit was snatched up by the Sword Sect for twenty million spirit stones.
From the two Holy Infant Fruits, Qin Bei raked in nearly forty million spirit stones.
That was beyond anything he had anticipated.
If I had known it would be like this, I would have fought the Holy Infant Tree for it without hesitation; I would’ve happily settled for one more Holy Infant Fruit!
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